BJP MPs give declarations on blackmoney on Anti-Corruption Day

Published: Friday, December 9, 2011, 16:30 [IST]

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New Delhi, Dec 9: BJP MPs today gave declarations that they do not possess illegal wealth in foreign banks to presiding officers of the two Houses of Parliament, in a bid to corner the ruling Congress and put pressure on the government on the black money issue.

Announcing this outside Parliament, BJP leader L K Advani said the party would also ask the government what steps it had taken to repossess the illegal Indian wealth stashed away in foreign tax havens abroad, making use of international laws in this regard as had been done by many other nations.

"All our party MPs today made a declaration to their respective Presiding Officers in both House of Parliament. Our 112 MPs in Lok Sabha and 50 MPs in Rajya Sabha had gone to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar and Chairman Hamid Ansari to present their respective declarations," said Advani.

"One of our Rajya Sabha MPs Ram Jethmalani could not come as his daughter Rani Jethmalani is critically ill in Mumbai," he said.

Advani said the declarations were filed keeping in view the announcement made at the end of the Jan Chetna Yatra that all our MPs would declare that they did not possess any illegal wealth in foreign bank accounts. He said today all have done so on the occasion of Anti-Corruption Day.

Advani said, "Many nations like America, Germany and France have forced the nations considered as tax havens to hand over their illegal funds to them. When there is a debate on black money in Parliament, we will ask what has India achieved in this regard."

Advani said in view of the UN Security Council's resolution on corruption in which there is a mention about illegal wealth in foreign banks, many nations like America, Germany and France have forced the nations considered as tax havens to hand over their illegal funds to them.

In this regard, he said, nations like Switzerland have changed their laws and passed the Restitution of Illegal Assets Act, 2011 following which many nations have already got their illegal wealth back.

He said, "This issue of black money in foreign banks and particularly money earned out of corruption or other illegal means started in the West mainly after 9/11 (incident) when America came to know that a lot of money that was used for terrorism was of this nature."

On the Congress demand for declaring the legal foreign bank accounts, the BJP leader said, "If someone has legal accounts, then they will give such details in their declarations."

When asked when the other NDA allies would file their declarations, BJP leader Sushma Swaraj said they will do so soon. She said they were yet to be handed over the proforma for the declaration.

The BJP action is considered an attempt to put pressure on the ruling Congress and corner it on the issue of black money.

The party has already decided to move an adjournment motion on the issue and the Left is likely to support the motion, after seeking an amendment to it by adding the issue of corruption to black money.